Venezuelan lawmakers approve a sweeping mining bill to lure foreign
investors
[April 10, 2026] By
REGINA GARCIA CANO
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan lawmakers on Thursday approved a
bill to regulate the country’s mining as it seeks to attract leery
foreign investors to a once-private industry that has long been
exploited by criminal groups with ties to the government.
It is the latest legislative initiative by acting President Delcy
Rodríguez since the self-proclaimed socialist government that has ruled
Venezuela for 26 years came under pressure from the Trump administration
in January, when the U.S. military deposed then-President Nicolás Maduro.
The lengthy bill will now undergo a review by the country’s high court
to determine if it is constitutional.
The bill regulates mineral rights, establishes small, medium and
large-scale mining categories, and allows for independent arbitration of
disputes, which foreign investors view as key to guard against the
government seizing their assets. It also bans the president, vice
president, ministers, governors and others from holding mining titles.
The bill is a “vehicle for the construction of future prosperity” and an
“instrument that protects” mining workers across the country, National
Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez told lawmakers after the measure was
approved.
The approval came a day after the acting president asked public and
private sector workers, whose wages have long not allowed them to afford
basic necessities, for patience as her government works to improve the
country’s economy. She promised them a wage increase on May 1 but did
not disclose the amount.
On Thursday, as workers protested for better wages in the capital,
Caracas, Delcy Rodríguez arrived in Grenada on her first official
international trip as acting president.
Two decades ago, many foreign firms in the mining and oil sectors saw
their assets seized by the Venezuelan government. However, as crucial
oil revenues plummeted, Maduro’s government in 2016 designated more than
10% of Venezuela’s territory as a mining development zone stretching
across the central area of the country.
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Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez smiles during a meeting
with a delegation led by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright at
Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana
Cubillos, File)
 Since then, mining operations for
gold, diamonds, copper and other minerals have proliferated. Many of
these sites are informal, unlicensed mines operating under brutal
conditions and the presence of criminal groups.
Homicides, human trafficking, fuel smuggling and other crimes are
commonplace in mining areas, but ordinary Venezuelans continue to
flock there in hopes of getting rich quick and escaping poverty.
Officials and members of the military take cuts from the illegal
mining revenue in exchange for allowing the operation of mines.
“The mining and subsequent sale of gold has proven to be a lucrative
financial scheme for some well-connected Venezuelans and senior
officers within the National Bolivarian Armed Forces, which profits
from charging criminal organizations for access and inputs, such as
fuel,” the U.S. State Department reported to Congress last year.
“The estimated market value of gold mined in Venezuela is difficult
to confirm, but well-respected sources estimate that it averaged
$2.2 billion annually over the past five years.”
The newly approved bill sets royalties and taxes and caps mining
concessions at 30 years, with the possibility of renewal. It also
establishes prison penalties for those who participate in illegal
activities and those who cause environmental damages, and allows for
the seizure of illegally obtained minerals.
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